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The Sunday Routine That Makes My Weekdays Easy

In my household, Sundays evenings are probably the most productive part of the whole 72 hours since it’s mostly spent meal prepping for the week ahead. What’s meal prepping? Well, essentially it’s where you batch-cook your meals for the weekdays. This could be simple and quick, like preparing overnight oats or boiling eggs for a speedy on-the-go breakfast or creating snack pots of crudités and fruits to take to the office. Or, in our case, it can be a full-on affair that sees us roasting chickens, steaming vegetables and creating vats of chilli, which we then weigh (because we count our macros, but you don’t have to), decant into lunch boxes and cool, before storing them in the fridge.

I know what you’re thinking: What a faff! But while it takes us a couple of hours to meal prep, it means we don’t have to even think about what we’re having for dinner (or cook) after a hard day’s work, and we avoid spending a small fortune in Pret every day. What’s more, a little planning goes a long way to help with weight loss too. If you prepare your own meals and snacks, you can control everything from the calorie to the sugar content. Within a month of starting to meal-prep, I had dropped a dress size; you just have to make sure the meals you create are healthy and full of good-for-you ingredients.

And before you even think it, eating the same foods every day isn't boring. We mix up the vegetables each week and the seasoning for the chicken, and when it comes to serving that chilli, some nights I’ll have it with sweet potato (if I’ve been to the gym) or with a lighter side like rocket salad, courgetti or cauliflower rice. You can even add a spoonful of 0% Greek yoghurt and a smattering of grated Parmesan to jazz it up.

To give you a helping hand, I’ve scoured Pinterest for the best meal prep ideas, plus shared the cheap, BPA-free lunchboxes we bulk buy from Amazon. Keep scrolling for everything you need to meal prep right.

Overnight Oats

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If you love eating cereal or porridge, then overnight oats are the answer. You soak the oats in the milk of your choice and then add flavours, be that spices like cinnamon or nutmeg or fruits like berries or nuts and seeds. If, like me, you don’t like eating sweet foods first thing, then boil up a 12-pack of eggs on a Sunday and pop two in each container. Have them alone or with spinach, smoked salmon or quinoa for your own take on the Pret pots.

Mix It Up

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If you’re taking the time to meal-prep, then you should ensure it’s a well-rounded meal with lean protein, vegetables and carbohydrates. Choose one from each list, and mix it up weekly.

Play With Flavours

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Chicken is a staple meal-prep ingredient (if you’re a vegetarian or vegan, look to tofu and Quorn instead), but it can get boring having the same flavour each day. Get creative with the seasonings you use.

Snack Attack

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Buying fruit in bulk at the supermarket is way more affordable than buying those pre-made fruit pots. You can then make your own fruit salads or just take the fruit to work and keep them in the fridge. Alternatively, experiment by making your own protein balls and snack bars.

Experiment

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Fancy giving meal prep a try? There are tons of ideas out there on Pinterest.